Discussion: Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar Fasciitis THIS PROBLEM started about 6 six weeks ago during a tournament in houston. the pain in the heel was terrible. bought some shoe inserts from WALGREEN'S, did not do very much for me.
i didnt do any playing for 3 weeks and i'll be darn if the pain came back during a game. it's been 6 weeks now, and it's still around, though not as bad. havent played too much nor tried to go at full speed when i do run during a game.

Damn painful experiences I've had twice.
Tendons in arch area from toes to heal 'shrink' as it were. I needed to stretch them back out. I used frozen water bottles to roll under the area 2-3 times a day as well as wall stretches, towel stretches too. Took a few weeks easily to get relief I wanted.
Just not running I doubt will help. Needs so be worked on. 1st time I let it go too long, and when told what to do about it as I mentioned above, it was over 3 months before back to normal. 2nd time I was back 'normal' in about 2-3 weeks.

first thing is go see a doctor.. you might get a cortisone shot to get the swelling down.. Then after you get past that you have to get on a daily regiment of wall stretches.. it stretches out your calf which means you will be stretching out the Plantar ligament... I have gone through this 3 years ago and have not had a problem since! FYI

TITANHD- if you are referring to shoes, it's no. i was wearing the cleats that have the 9-11 spikes in the bottom when this pain started. i have switched to shoes that have the small dibs , hope this switch helps.
i ordered some spenco polysorb walker/runner inserts this am , hope they do the job and relief the pain. have an appt to see the doctor and get his opinion.

First off there is no one cure for this. One of the best things to do is go to a foot doctor and have a custom orthonics made to lift up your arch. What has happened is your arches have dropped and inflamed the heal where the tendon is attached. Even with these it will take a while to heal. Some things you can do to prevent a recurrance is always wear the custom orthonics. Wear good tennis shoes and get new ones when they start to wear out. Don't wear sandals, hard sole shoes or go barefoot. Do streching exercises by sitting in a chair and grabbing your toes and streching them back toward your ankle and hold for 30 seconds. Also stand on the balls of your foot on a stairs and hold for 30 seconds. Gettting shots and sugery are last resorts and should be done only if all else fails.

These worked for me. I wore them in all of my shoes not just softball shoes. I now play and walk without pain but, I continue to wear them. I've recommended these to others and they all had the same positive result. I did also change the insoles to all of my softball shoes to SHOCK DOCTOR insoles and wear them in tandem with the heel seat. (Tanel sells SHOCK DOCTOR).I use the HTP but,I know of a few that bought the GEL as well.

I had it happen to me last year and couldn't run at all. I found this taping procedure and I was able to run again. Take the tape off and couldn't run. It works.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z2XlqsuQSY

See your doctor before doing anything. He or she will recommend inserts. Wear them all the time, not just playing softball. I had plantar fas for 4 weeks before I saw my doctor at Kaiser. That was four years ago and I still wear inserts in all my shoes and limit my use of flip flops etc.

check with a chiropractor.. I never would've thought of this til my wife called one here in Vegas..They told my wife to have me come in and they'd take care of it.. Believe me if ya want comfort call a chiropractor and ask them about it..

Most of above is good. My foot doctor recommended Power Step Pinnacle Max. He claimed if the off the shelf ones work for your foot they are as good as the custom orthotics. My guy said the problem with SB is too much down time. He recommended slow jogging before the game or practice and slow jogging periodically during the game. What worked best for me was wearing shoes with inserts virtually the whole day. Cortisone is a temporary fix which makes it worse in the long run. The key is constant stretching since the problem is actually a tight calf muscle which pulls the heel up and shortens the tendons involved (plantar fascia). As stated the pain is localized to the precise point where the tendons attach to the heel bone. Often a spur develops which
can be seen on x-ray. The spur is not the cause of the problem it is a possible result. There are specialized wall stretches which work. Good luck.

Injections for the short term, stretching for the long term. I bought special Nike brand shoes for pf. They work wonders, New Balance makes a lot of shoes too. You can tape the bottom of your foot in an X pattern for when you play. Make sure the middle of the X is in the pain area- tape it as tight as you can. Look online- they will show you how. Also, freeze a full water bottle and roll you foot over it to reduce the swelling between games. Don't wear sandals or flip flops too often, buy the Nikes' and wear them. Look up downward facing dog stretch and try that. Works for me and a few of my guys.

Of course see your doctor - I have on going issues with this condition. What worked for me was going to a professional who dealt with this stuff. In my area Sacramento Ca, there is a place called the good feet store ( one of many ). They took all the measurements and I got some REALLY good inserts. I use only them when I play but I also made sure that any other shoe has a good heal support. Some of the new BB/athletic shoes have no cushion for your heals.

There is a lot of good information posted here about treating plantar fasciitis, but I thought I might be able to tie it all together and clear up a few misconceptions.I happen to be a podiatrist who has successfully treated hundreds of cases of plantar fasciitis and have helped many of my teammates over the years with this condition. Some players will benefit from just an over the counter sports arch support. Others may need a custom orthotic. It all depends on the severity of the faulty biomechanics that caused the condition. Every case is different. A good podiatrist who is experienced treating athletes can watch you walk for 30 seconds and determine the type of device you need.The single most aggravating factor in developing plantar fasciitis is tightness of the calf muscles, and believe me 90% of all softball players have this condition. When ankle motion is restricted by tight calf muscles, the foot bends in an attempt to increase the motion necessary to bring the leg over the foot when running. This bending of the foot puts tremendous strain on the plantar fascia where it attaches to the heel bone. That's why a calf stretching regimen is a must. Adding a 1/4 to 3/8 inch cork heel lift to the inside of your cleats or gluing it to the bottom of the heel of your arch supports is helpful. I have tried every athletic cleat on the market over the years and I have found that the Boombah multi stud cleat works best for me. It is roomy and has a removable insole that accommodates most arch supports well.(I have no affiliation with this company).
By the way, you are trying to stretch the calf muscle itself, not the Achilles tendon or plantar fascia. These structures are inelastic and inordinate stretching will cause damage to them. I rarely give injections to athletes, except with severe pain, and never during the season because it makes the fascia susceptible to rupture. When I do, it is mandatory that the patient follow the above regimen, because if they don't the condition usually returns.
If anyone has any questions about this condition or any other foot problems they can contact me in person (frmred@aol.com) or feel free to approach me at the ball field. Will be in Las Vegas in October.

Have you recommended or used the wrapping method that I linked too? I can't believe how good a job it did in letting me run immediately. I tried it while waiting for a referral to a foot doctor. After seeing the doctor then I did the insert and stretching routine.

valgus is saying what my podiatrist said about cortisone and arch support. If the OTC support works for you it is better than a custom expensive one because you can buy many pairs and put them in your shoes so you don't have to keep moving the same smelly one each time you change shoes.
Additionally consider support socks which have a tight band around the arch which raises the arch and alleviates pain. Around the house I wear Feetures brand and for practice and games I wear Rawlings baseball support socks. These are knee high but actually cooler because there is a high % of CoolMax. List is $35 but they are often on sale. Miken also sells a comprable sock. These raise the arch and drive inflammation out of the lower leg. They work for me and help the PF from flaring.

Yes...the taping and wrapping methods can be used temporarily until a permanent device can be dispensed. I often use them after giving an injection because it does mimic an arch support and takes strain off the plantar fascia. When taping, I apply a spray adhesive and if you keep the foot dry it will stay on for about 2 weeks. Not very practical for a softball player! Most patients get it wet though and take it off after a few days. If you don't mind taping your foot every time you run or play it may be all you need. But like I said before, it may work for you, but not be as effective for someone with pathomechanics different from yours.....HJ brings up a good point. Compression socks can be helpful in preventing leg and muscle fatigue and prevent leg swelling, especially if you have varicose veins.

" The single most aggravating factor in developing plantar fasciitis is tightness of the calf muscles," .

i did not correlate the possibility that my planters problem could be a factor in my calf/ shin area being swollen.

thinking back now , the planter problem and swelling came approx the same time. this was about 6-8 weeks ago.

i will make an appt to go see a podiatrist, my REGULAR DOCTOR did not seem too concerned about the swelling on my leg. i had a varicose operation done about 35 yrs ago, and my doctor blamed that operation as to a possibility of the leg swelling due to lack of circulation.

CRUSHER- i am still hobbling around with this irritating problem. i am still playing nite league and dayball, but am not running at full speed. i have put in some arch supports and trying to layoff as much as necessary.

i will be ready for dalton, and i will be in my regular position. ( IBUPROFEN 800MG )

TOO BAD OUR TEAM IS NOT GOING TO LAS VEGAS. i will try to latch on with a 70's team
if possible or maybe a 65 team.

as far as dalton, the flight out of dfw to atlanta is about 167.00 R/T. i cant see driving 11-12 hrs each way.

Armiho211 I'm sure you will get some relief after you see the Doc and find the right course of action... I took the cortisone shot and it got me going in the right direction and with the Wall stretching, orthotic, and taping I have not had any issues since.. FYI

Dealing with it myself.......went on youtube and found some great information...from excercise, stretching, cortico steroid injections...and taping methods that help alot, proper shoes....try watching the Dr Gerry Bellows method for taping. It let me run again.

Since wall stretches have been mentioned I will describe the one my doc prescribed. Start easy and work up to 30 seconds. Do as much as you want but at least 3x day. Do not do w/in 3 hours before a practice or game. Do do slow jogging before practice or game and between innings.

The stretch:
1. Stand shoulder width legs apart about 30 inches from wall (distance from wall depends on your arm length.
2. Stand pigeon toed (toes on each foot turned inward towards each other)legs straight
3. Stick your stomach out toward the wall as if you were showing off your gut
4. Maintaining body position 2 and 3, put hands on wall slowly bend elbows so your gut approaches the wall. Don't bounce and don't force it too much. You
should feel a tremendous stretch simultaneously in both calves. If you go fast or stretch too quickly the body will tense to protect itself and defeat the stretch. Concentrate on breathing and try to go a little further. Try to hold maximum stretch for 30 seconds, but work up to it slowly.

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